Integrated Hybrid Standard Cell Structure with Gate-All-Around Device

ABSTRACT

The disclosed circuit includes a first and a second active region (AR) spaced a spacing S along a direction in a first standard cell (SC) that spans Dl along the direction between a first and a second cell edge (CE). Each of the first and second ARs spans a first width W1 along the direction; a third and a fourth AR spaced S in a second SC that spans a second dimension Ds along the direction between a third and a fourth CE; and gate stacks extend from the fourth CE of the second SC to the first CE of the first SC, wherein Ds&lt;Dl; each of the third and fourth ARs spans a second width W2 along the direction; W2&lt;W1; and the third CE is aligned with and contacts the second CE. The first and second ARs have a structure different from the third and fourth ARs.

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/727,731, filed Dec. 26, 2019, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

In the design of integrated circuits (IC), standard cells with certainfunctions are repeated used with high frequency. Accordingly, thosestandard cells are predesigned and packed in a cell library. The celllibrary is provided to the IC designers for their particular designing.During integrated circuit designing, the standard cells are retrievedfrom the cell libraries and placed into desired locations, thus reducingthe design effort. Routing is then performed to connect the standardcells and other circuit blocks to form the desired integrated circuit.Pre-defined design rules are followed when placing the standard cellsinto the desired locations. For example, a standard cell is placed closeto another standard cell, the space between those two standard cells isdetermined according to the pre-defined rules. The reserved spacebetween the standard cells and the cell boundaries results in asignificant increase in the areas of the standard cells. The packingdensity and performance of the resulting device is degraded. Layoutpatterns and configurations can affect the yield and the designperformance of the standard cells. It is therefore desired to have anintegrated circuit layout structure, and the method making the same toaddress the above issues.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isemphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in theindustry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1A is a top view of an integrated circuit (IC) structureconstructed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1B is a sectional view of the IC structure of FIG. 1A along AA′,constructed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1C is a sectional view of the IC structure of FIG. 1A along BB′,constructed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 1D is a top view of an IC structure constructed according to someother embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a top view of an IC structure constructed according to someembodiments.

FIG. 2B is a sectional view of the IC structure of FIG. 2A along AA′,constructed according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2C is a sectional view of the IC structure of FIG. 2A along BB′,constructed according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 are top viewsof an IC structure constructed according to various embodiments.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method making an IC structure, constructedaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method forming a design layout for an ICstructure, constructed according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments, orexamples, for implementing different features of the disclosure.Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below tosimplify the present disclosure. These are, of course, merely examplesand are not intended to be limiting. For example, the formation of afirst feature over or on a second feature in the description thatfollows may include embodiments in which the first and second featuresare formed in direct contact and may also include embodiments in whichadditional features may be formed between the first and second features,such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.

In addition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.Moreover, the formation of a feature on, connected to, and/or coupled toanother feature in the present disclosure that follows may includeembodiments in which the features are formed in direct contact, and mayalso include embodiments in which additional features may be formedinterposing the features, such that the features may not be in directcontact. In addition, spatially relative terms, for example, “lower,”“upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “over,” “below,” “beneath,”“up,” “down,” “top,” “bottom,” etc. as well as derivatives thereof(e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) are used for easeof the present disclosure of one features relationship to anotherfeature. The spatially relative terms are intended to cover differentorientations of the device including the features. Still further, when anumber or a range of numbers is described with “about,” “approximate,”and the like, the term is intended to encompass numbers that are withina reasonable range including the number described, such as within +/−10%of the number described or other values as understood by person skilledin the art. For example, the term “about 5 nm” encompasses the dimensionrange from 4.5 nm to 5.5 nm.

The present disclosure provides various embodiments of integratedcircuit (IC) formed on a semiconductor substrate. The integrated circuithas a design layout incorporated with various standard cells. Thestandard cells are predesigned IC structure to be repeatedly used inindividual IC designs. Effective IC design layouts include variouspredesigned standard cells and predefined rules of placing thosestandard cells for enhanced circuit performing and reduced circuitareas.

FIG. 1A is a top view of an integrated circuit (IC) structure 100, FIG.1B is a sectional view of the IC structure 100 along the dashed lineAA′, and FIG. 1C is a sectional view of the IC structure 100 along thedashed line BB′, constructed according to various embodiments. In someembodiments, the IC structure 100 is formed on fin active regions andincludes fin field-effect transistors (FinFETs). In some embodiments,the IC structure 100 is formed on flat active regions and includeseffect transistors (FETs). In the present embodiment, the IC structure100 includes a device structure with stacked channels or gate-all-around(GAA) field-effect transistors (GAA-FETs), such as nanosheet structure,nanowire structure or other nanochannel structures, in which multiplechannels are vertically stacked and the gate stacks extend down tosurround the multiple channels. With the IC structure 100 as an examplefor illustration, an IC structure and a method to incorporate standardcells are collectively described below.

In various embodiments, the semiconductor structure 100 includes one ormore standard cell placed to the IC layout according to predefinedrules. Those standard cells are repeatedly used in integrated circuitdesigns and therefore predesigned according to manufacturingtechnologies and saved in a standard cell library. IC designers couldretrieve those standard cells, incorporate in their IC designs, andplace into the IC layout according to the predefined placing rules. Thestandard cells may include various basic circuit devices, such asinverter, AND, NAND, OR, XOR, and NOR, which are popular in digitalcircuit design for applications, such as central processing unit (CPU),graphic processing unit (GPU), and system on chip (SOC) chip designs.The Standard cells may include other frequently used circuit blocks,such flip-flop circuit and latch. In the present embodiment illustratedin FIG. 1A, the IC structure 100 includes two standard cells 120 and122, which will be further described later.

The semiconductor structure 100 includes a semiconductor substrate 102.The semiconductor substrate 102 includes silicon. Alternatively, thesubstrate 102 may include an elementary semiconductor, such as siliconor germanium in a crystalline structure; a compound semiconductor, suchas silicon germanium, silicon carbide, gallium arsenic, galliumphosphide, indium phosphide, indium arsenide, and/or indium antimonide;or combinations thereof. Possible substrates 102 also include asilicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. SOI substrates are fabricatedusing separation by implantation of oxygen (SIMOX), wafer bonding,and/or other suitable methods. In the present embodiments, thesemiconductor structure 100 includes a stack of alternative silicon (Si)films and silicon germanium (SiGe) films epitaxially grown on thesilicon substrate 102. During a wire-release process, one type of films,such as SiGe films, are selectively removed, another type of films, suchas Si films, are patterned to form a plurality of channels 130vertically stacked. The gate stacks 112, each including a gatedielectric layer and a gate electrode, extend down to around variouschannels 130 to form respective GAA devices, also referred to as GAAfield-effect transistors (GAA-FETs), such as GAA-FETs 132 and 134, asillustrated in FIG. 1A. The IC structure 100 may further includedielectric spacers (or gate spacers) 116 disposed on sidewalls of thegate stacks 112.

The substrate 102 also includes various isolation features, such asisolation features 104, formed on the substrate 102 and defining variousactive regions 106 and 108 on the substrate 102. The isolation featureutilizes isolation technology, such as shallow trench isolation (STI),to define and electrically isolate the various active regions. Eachactive region (e.g., 106 or 108) is surrounded by a continuous isolationfeature 104 such that it is separated from other adjacent activeregions. The isolation feature 104 includes silicon oxide, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride, other suitable dielectric materials, orcombinations thereof. The isolation feature 104 is formed by anysuitable process. As one example, forming an isolation structure havingSTI features includes a lithography process to expose a portion of thesubstrate, etching a trench in the exposed portion of the substrate (forexample, by using a dry etching and/or wet etching), filling the trench(for example, by using a chemical vapor deposition process) with one ormore dielectric materials, and planarizing the substrate and removingexcessive portions of the dielectric material(s) by a polishing process,such as a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In some examples,the filled trench may have a multi-layer structure, such as a thermaloxide liner layer and filling layer(s) of silicon nitride or siliconoxide.

An active region, such as 106 and 108, is a region with semiconductorsurface wherein various doped features are formed and configured to oneor more device, such as a diode, a transistor (e.g., FETs or GAA-FETs),and/or other suitable devices. The active regions (106 or 108) mayinclude a semiconductor material similar to the bulk semiconductormaterial (such as silicon) of the substrate 102 or differentsemiconductor material, such as silicon germanium (SiGe), siliconcarbide (SiC), or multiple semiconductor material layers (such asalternative silicon and silicon germanium layers) formed on thesubstrate 102 by epitaxial growth for performance enhancement (e.g.,strain effect to increase carrier mobility).

In some embodiments, the active region (106 or 108) isthree-dimensional, such as a fin active region extended above the STIfeature. The fin active region is extruded from the substrate 102 andhas a three-dimensional profile for more effective coupling between thechannel and the gate electrode of a FET. Particularly, the fin activeregion has a top surface 106A that is above a top surface 102A of thesemiconductor substrate 102, as illustrated in FIG. 1C. The fin activeregion may be formed by selective etching to recess the isolationfeatures 104, or selective epitaxial growth to grow active regions witha semiconductor same or different from that of the substrate 102, or acombination thereof.

The semiconductor substrate 102 further includes various doped features,such as n-type doped wells, p-type doped wells, source and drainfeatures, other doped features, or a combination thereof configured toform various devices or components of the devices, such as source anddrain features of a field-effect transistor. In some examples, the ICstructure 100 includes an n-type doped well (also referred to as N well)110 and a p-type doped well (also referred to as P well) 111 forrespective p-type FETs and n-type FETs to be formed thereof. The N well110 includes negative dopant, such as phosphorus. And the P well 111includes positive dopant, such as boron. The N well 110 and the P well111 are formed by suitable technologies, such as ion implantation,diffusion or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, one of the activeregions 106 and one of the active region 108 are disposed in the N wells110 and the rest active regions (106 and 108) are disposed in the Pwells 111, as illustrated in FIG. 1A.

Various IC devices are formed on the semiconductor substrate 102. The ICdevices includes field-effect transistors (FinFETs), diodes, bipolartransistors, imaging sensors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, memorycells, or a combination thereof. The FETs may include fin FETs orGAA-FETs. In FIGS. 1B and 1C, exemplary GAA-FETs are provided accordingto some embodiments.

The IC structure 100 further includes various gate stacks (or simplygates) 112 having elongated shape oriented in a first direction (Xdirection). In the present embodiment, X and Y directions are orthogonaland define the top surface 102A of the semiconductor substrate 102. Agate stack 112 includes a gate dielectric layer and a gate electrode.The gate stack 112 is a feature of a FET and functions with otherfeatures including source/drain (S/D) features and a channel, whereinthe channel is a portion of the active region directly underlying thegate stack; and the S/D features are formed on the active region and aredisposed on two sides of the gate stack 112. It is noted that the gatestack (or gate) 112 is the gate of a FET and should not be confused witha logic gate, such as a NOR logic gate.

The IC structure 100 may additionally or alternatively includedielectric gates 114 disposed on the semiconductor substrate 102, asillustrated in FIG. 1D according to some embodiments. A dielectric gate114 is not a gate and does not function as a gate. Instead, thedielectric gate 114 is a dielectric feature that includes one or moredielectric material and function as an isolation feature, in someinstances. Each of the dielectric gates 114 also has an elongated shapeoriented in the X direction. The dielectric gates 114 are similar to thegate stacks 112 in term of formation. In some embodiments, the gatestacks 112 and the dielectric gates 114 are collectively formed by aprocedure, such as a gate-last process. In furtherance of theembodiments, dummy gates are first formed by deposition and patterning,in which the patterning further includes lithography process andetching. Afterward, a subset of the dummy gates is replaced to form gatestacks 112 by depositing a gate dielectric layer and a gate electrodewhile the rest of the dummy gates are replaced to form dielectric gates114 by depositing only dielectric material(s). Furthermore, thedielectric gate 114 is disposed and configured differently and thereforefunctions differently. In some embodiments, some dielectric gates 114are placed on the edges of the standard cells to function as isolationto separate one standard cell to an adjacent standard cell, and somedielectric gates are placed inside the standard cells for one or moreconsiderations, such as isolation between the adjacent FETs and/oradjust pattern density. Thus, the dielectric gate provides isolationfunction between adjacent IC devices and additionally provides patterndensity adjustment for improved fabrication, such as etching, depositionand CMP. In some embodiments (such as in FIG. 1D), the dielectric gates114 are formed at the edges of the standard cells 120 and 122.

The IC structure 100 includes various standard cells placed andconfigured on the semiconductor substrate 102 according to thepredefined rules. In some embodiments, a standard cell is a group oftransistor and interconnect structures that provides a Boolean logicfunction (such as AND, OR, XOR, XNOR, or inverters), a storage function(such as flipflop or latch) or other suitable functions. Those standardcells are pre-designed and collected in an IC standard cell library forrepeatedly use during IC design for compatible, consistent, andefficient IC design and IC fabrication. Proper design and configurationof the standard cells can enhance the packing density and circuitperformance.

In the present embodiment, the IC structure 100 includes a firststandard cell 120 and a second standard cell 122 placed edge to edge.Edges (or boundary lines) of the standard cells are illustrated by thedashed lines in FIG. 1A (or FIG. 1D in another embodiment). In thepresent embodiment, the first standard cell 120 and the second standardcell 122 are placed next each other. The first standard cell 120 is alarge cell with a first dimension (or height) D_(L), and the secondstandard cell 122 is a small cell with a second dimension (or height)D_(S)<D_(L). The first standard cell 120 and the second standard cell122 are also referred to as large standard cell (LSC) 120 and smallstandard cell (SSC) 122. The IC structure 100 in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C isan example to illustrate how different standard cells are designed andintegrated together differently. It is not intended to be limiting tothe scope of the present disclosure. An IC structure may have otherconfiguration without departure of the disclosed scope, such as the ICstructure illustrated in FIG. 1D or other structures to be introducedlater. The large standard cells 120 and small standard cells 122 aredefined according to respective heights, or dimensions along the Xdirection while active regions are oriented along the Y direction. Inthe present design, D_(L)>D_(S). For example, D_(L)/D_(S) is greaterthan 1.2 or more particularly, greater than 1.5. Furthermore, the activeregions in the large standard cell 120 and the small standard cell 122have different structure and different dimensions. Therefore, the ICstructure 100 is referred to as a hybrid IC structure.

The small standard cell 122 and the large standard cell 120 havedifferent sizes, and include active regions (106 and 108 respectively)and channels 130 designed differently, such as with different channelwidths, so that the circuit packing density is increased while thedevice performance and the processing window are enhanced. In thepresent embodiment, the active regions in the large standard cell 120and the small standard cell 122 have different widths spanning along theX direction. The active region 106 in the large standard cell 120 has afirst width W₁ and the active region 108 in the small standard cell 122has a second width W₂<W₁. The active region 106 with the first width W₁is referred to as wide active region, and the active region 108 with thesecond width W₂ is referred to as narrow active region. Thecorresponding channels on the wide active regions 106 and the narrowactive regions 108 are wider (W₁) and narrower (W₂), respectively. Invarious examples, W₁/W₂ is greater than 1.5 or more particularly,greater than 5 in some example. The channels 130 have a thickness T asillustrated in FIG. 1B. T is substantially less than W₁ and W₂. Forexample, W₂/T is greater than 1.5. Accordingly, those GAA structures arereferred to as nanosheet (NS) structures. Particularly, the widechannels in the large standard cell 120 are referred to as widenanosheets (WNS) and the narrow channels in the small standard cell 122are referred to as narrow nanosheets (NNS). Furthermore, comparedbetween the large standard cell 120 and the small standard cell 122, thewidths of the corresponding active regions are different but the spacingbetween the adjacent active regions in the large standard cell 120 andthe small standard cell 122 are the same. Accordingly, the pitches alongthe X directions for the large standard cell 120 and the small standardcell 122 are different to match the corresponding heights (D_(l) andD_(s)). Here the pitch is the dimension measured from the same locationof the adjacent features, such as center to center.

Each standard cell includes one or more gate stack 112 configured toform one or more field-effect transistor (FET). In the presentembodiment, a plurality of gate stacks 112 are oriented along the Xdirection and extended through the large standard cell 120 and the smallstandard cell 122. The gate stacks 112 may be equally distancedaccording to some embodiments. In other words, all gate stacks 112 (oradditionally including dielectric gates 114 according to some otherembodiments) are configured into a periodic structure with a pitch P_(y)along the Y direction. In the present embodiment, both the largestandard cell 120 and the small standard cell 122 span a same dimensionalong the Y direction. For example, the large standard cell 120 spans afour-pitch dimension 4*P_(y) along the Y direction. Similarly, the smallstandard cell 122 spans a four-pitch dimension 4*P_(y) along the Ydirection.

In the present embodiment, each active region 106 has a continuousstructure extending over the whole cell along the Y direction. The smallstandard cell 122 is placed edge by edge with the large standard cell120 such that the isolation features 104 on the cell edges are mergedtogether and the respective gate stacks 112 are aligned and mergedtogether to be continuous.

Along the X direction, a pitch can be defined similarly. All activeregions are configured into a structure with a pitch P_(x) along the Xdirection. The pitch P_(x) is the dimension measured from the samelocation of the adjacent features (active regions), such as center tocenter, along the X direction. Accordingly, the large standard cell 120has a pitch P_(x-1) and the small standard cell 122 has a pitch P_(x-2)along the X direction. The parameters S₁ and S₂ are spacings among theadjacent active regions in the large standard cell 120 and the smallstandard cell 122, respectively. Accordingly, P_(x-1)=S₁+W₁ in the firststandard cell 120 and P_(x-2=52)+W₂ in the second standard cell 122. Inthe present embodiment, S₁ is designed to be equal to S₂ for betterdevice performance and process window. The pitches and widths aredesigned differently for the large cell 120 and the small cell 122 inorder to have better device performance, circuit packing density andprocess window. Here the process window refers to the margins of theprocess to form a structure without degrading the circuit performanceand is also referred to as fabrication capability.

In the present embodiment, the large standard cell 120 includes one ofthe first active regions 106 in an N-well 110 for pFETs and one of thefirst active regions 106 in a P-well 111 for nFETs; and similarly, thesmall standard cell 122 includes one of the second active regions 108 inan N-well 110 for pFETs and one of the second active regions 108 in a Pwell 111 for nFETs. The gate stacks 112 in the large standard cell 120and the small standard cell 122 extend continuously from farthest celledge of the small standard cell 122 to the farthest cell edge of thelarge standard cell 120 along the X direction.

With a source 126 and a drain 126 (or collectively referred to assource/drain features or S/D features), a gate stack 112, and a channel130 of each field-effect transistor formed on a respective active regionand a respective standard cell, the large standard cell 120 includes oneexemplary p-type FET (pFET) 132 in the N-well 110 and one exemplaryn-type FET (nFET) 134 in the P-well 111.

Thus, the adjacent standard cells have different sizes to ensure circuitpacking density; have different active region structures and channels toensure device performance; and a same spacing between the active regionsin a same cell to ensure process window. In some embodiments, the activeregions may be continuous through multiple cells. The continuity of theactive regions maintains a regular layout for fabrication friendliness.In some embodiments, a dielectric gate is additionally added to astandard cell for isolation and, pattern density. For example, atransistor is always placed next to a dielectric gate, the designuncertainty is reduced. Furthermore, the uniform local density of thegate stacks 112 (and the dielectric gates 114) leads to better deviceperformance and process margin.

When placing a standard cell next to another standard cell, the abovedefined layout rules applied. Generally, multiple standard cells may bethus placed in a cascade mode. For examples, large cells and small cellsare alternatively placed. Various layout of the standard cells and thecorresponding layout rules are further described below according tovarious embodiments.

FIG. 2A is a top view of an integrated circuit (IC) structure 200, FIG.2B is a sectional view of the IC structure 200 along the dashed lineAA′, and FIG. 2C is a sectional view of the IC structure 200 along thedashed line BB′ of FIG. 2A, constructed according to variousembodiments. In some embodiments, the IC structure 200 is formed on finactive regions and includes FinFETs. In some embodiments, the ICstructure 200 is formed on flat active regions and includes FETs. In thepresent embodiment, the IC structure 200 includes GAA-FETs with multiplechannels vertically stacked on. The IC structure 200 also includes alarge standard cell 204 and a small standard cell 206 placed edge byedge. with similar design rules applied to the IC structure 100, theactive regions in the two sized standard cells (204 and 206) havedifferent widths but a same spacing for enhanced packing density, deviceperformance and process window. However, the active regions adoptdifferent structure and the widths are varied in different way. A numberN of nanowire (NW) structures 202 are used for an active region. Whenthe active region is varied to have a greater width in the largestandard cell 204, the corresponding number N_(l) is increased. When theactive region is varied to have a less width in the small standard cell206, the corresponding number N_(s) is decreased. For examples, N_(l)and N_(s) are respectively 2 and 1; 3 and 1; 3 and 2; and etc. Thenanowire structure is defined as below. The corresponding channels 130in the nanowire structure each have a width W and a thickness T (asillustrated in FIG. 2B), in which T is substantially equal or close toW. In one example, the relative different between W and T (defined as|W−T)|/W) is less than 30%. In some other examples, the ratio W/T rangesbetween 1 and 1.6. The IC structure 200 is further described below.

The IC structure 200 also includes a large standard cell 204 and a smallstandard cell 206 configured similarly as those of the IC structure 100in FIGS. 1A through 1C, such as two cells being placed edge by edge. Thelarge standard cell 204 and the small standard cell 206 have differentsizes D_(l) and D_(s), in which D_(s) is substantially less than D_(l).For example, D_(l)/D_(s) is greater than 2.

The large standard cell 204 includes a first set of fin active regions202 and a second set of fin active regions 202. The two sets of finactive regions are spaced away from each other with a first spacing S₁.The second standard cell 206 also includes a first set of fin activeregions and a second set of fin active regions with a second spacing S₂therebetween. The first spacing S₁ and the second spacing S₂ are equal:S₃=S₂. Each set of active regions in the large standard cell 204includes 2 fin active regions 202 while each set of active regions inthe small standard cell 206 includes only 1 fin active regions 202, orN_(l)=2 and N₅=1 in other words. All active regions 202 have a NWstructure, and the corresponding channels have a same width W and a samethickness T. If there is two or more fin active region in each set ofactive regions (such as N_(l)>1 or N_(s)>1), there the spacing betweenadjacent active regions 202 in that set is S or referred tointra-spacing. The intra-spacing S is less than S₁ or S₂. In someembodiments, S₁/S>1.5.

Other aspects of the IC structure 200 are similar to the correspondingaspects of the IC structure 100 in FIGS. 1A-1C or FIG. 1D. For example,the IC structure 200 also includes GAA-FET structure with multiplechannels stacked vertically. The gate stacks 112 continuously extendfrom the large standard cell 204 to the small standard cell 206. The ICstructure 200 may additionally include one dielectric gates 114 placedon cell edges or interposed between nFETs and pFETs for isolationsand/or uniform pattern density.

Various embodiments are provided below. FIG. 3 is a top view of the ICstructure 230 constructed in accordance with some embodiments. The ICstructure 230 is similar to the IC structure 100. The active regions 106and 108 have respective constant widths.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the IC structure 240 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments. The IC structure 240 is similar to the ICstructure 200. The channels are vertically stacked and have a NWstructure, in which each channel has a thickness and a width beingsubstantially equal.

FIG. 5 is a top view of an IC structure 250 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments. The IC structure 250 is similar to the ICstructure 100 but each of the active regions 106 in the large standardcell 120 has a varying width along the Y direction. Accordingly, thewidth of channels 130 formed in that active regions 106 varies in a sameway. The width varies from the greater width W_(g) to the smallest widthW_(s) wherein the smallest width W_(s) in the large standard cell isgreater or equal to the width W₂ of the active regions in the smallstandard cell. The ratio W_(l)/W_(s) is greater than 2 or 3 in variousexamples. In some embodiments, the channels 130 include one portion 252having segments of the active regions configured symmetric and anotherportion 254 having segments configured asymmetric.

FIG. 6 is a top view of an IC structure 260 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments. The IC structure 260 is similar to the ICstructure 200 but the active regions 106 (accordingly the channelsformed in the active regions 106 as well) are not continuous along the Ydirection. Furthermore, each of the active regions 202 in the large cell204 includes segments aligned with and distanced away from each other.In some embodiments, the channels 130 include one portion 262 withsegments of active regions configured symmetric and another portion 264with segments of active regions configured asymmetric.

FIG. 7 is a top view of an IC structure 270 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments. The IC structure 270 is similar to the ICstructure 100 but the active regions 106 (and 108) are unbalanced orhave different widths in other words. Particularly, the active region106 (accordingly the channels formed in the active regions 106) in thelarge standard cell 120 for pFETs has a width Wpl greater than the widthWnl of the active region 106 for nFETs to match the device (nFETs andpFETs) parameters and circuit performance. For example, Wnl/Wpl>1.5.Similarly, the active region 108 (accordingly the channels formed in theactive regions 108) in the small standard cell 122 for pFETs has a widthWps greater than the width Wns of the active region 108 for nFETs tomatch the device (nFETs and pFETs) parameters and circuit performance.For example, Wns/Wps>1.5.

FIG. 8 is a top view of an IC structure 280 constructed in accordancewith some embodiments. The IC structure 280 is similar to the ICstructure 100 but the active regions 106 and 108 are unbalanced.Particularly, the active region 106 (accordingly the channels formed inthe active regions 106) in the large standard cell 120 for pFETs has awidth Wpl less than the width Wnl of the active region 106 for nFETs tomatch the device (nFETs and pFETs) parameters and circuit performance.For example, Wpl/Wnl>1.5. Accordingly, the active region 108(accordingly the channels formed in the active regions 108) in the smallstandard cell 122 for pFETs has a width Wps less than the width Wns ofthe active region 108 for nFETs to match the device (nFETs and pFETs)parameters and circuit performance. For example, Wns/Wps>1.5.

FIG. 9 is a top view of an IC structure 290 having multiple standardcells placed in series edge by edge constructed according to oneembodiment. The standard cells include large cells, such as 120, andsmall cells, such as 122. Particularly, the large standard cells 120 andsmall standard cells 122 are alternatively placed for various reasons,such as device performance and uniformity for fabrication.

FIG. 10 is a top view of an IC structure 300 having multiple standardcells placed in series edge by edge constructed according to oneembodiment. The standard cells include large cells, such as 204, andsmall cells, such as 206. Particularly, the large standard cells 204 andsmall standard cells 206 are alternatively placed. In some otherembodiments, the large standard cells 204 and small standard cells 206are mixed and placed alternatively.

FIG. 11 is a top view of an IC structure 310, in portion, constructedaccording to one embodiment. The active region 106 includes a varyingwidth and an L-shaped geometry. The gate structure further includes agate spacer 114 disposed on sidewall of the gate stack 112.

FIG. 12 is a top view of an IC structure 320, in portion, constructedaccording to one embodiment. The active region 202 segments aligned anddistanced away from each other.

FIG. 13 is a top view of an IC structure 330 constructed according toone embodiment. The IC structure 330 is similar to the IC structure 200.The active regions have a NW structure. The standard cells include alarge standard cell 204 and small standard cells 206 placed edge toedge. However, the active regions in the large standard cell 204includes a first set of active regions having three active regions 202spaced from each other with a spacing S and a second fin set havingthree active regions 202 spaced from each other with the spacing S. Thefirst and second sets of active regions in the large standard cell 204are spaced away with a spacing S₁. The active regions 202 in the smallstandard cell 206 includes a third set of active regions having twoactive regions 202 spaced from each other with the spacing S and afourth set having two active regions 202 spaced from each other with thespacing S. The third and fourth sets are spaced away with a secondspacing S₂. S₁=S₂ and S₁ is substantially greater than S, such asS₁/S>2.

FIG. 14 is a top view of an IC structure 340 constructed according toone embodiment. The IC structure 330 is similar to the IC structure 200.The active regions have a NW structure. The standard cells include alarge cell and small cells placed edge to edge. However, the activeregions in the large cell includes a first fin set having three finactive regions 202 spaced from each other with a spacing S₁ and a secondfin set having three fin active regions 202 spaced from each other withthe first spacing S₁. The first and second sets are spaced away with asecond spacing S₂. The active regions in the small cell includes a thirdfin set only having one fin active region 202 and a fourth fin set onlyhaving one fin active region 202. The third and fourth sets are spacedaway with a second spacing S₂. S₂ is substantially greater than S₁, suchas S₂/S₁>2.

FIG. 15 is a top view of an IC structure 350 having multiple standardcells placed in series edge by edge constructed according to oneembodiment. The standard cells include large standard cells, such as120, and small standard cells, such as 122. Particularly, the largestandard cells 120 and small standard cells 122 are alternativelyplaced. Large standard cells 120 and small standard cells arecategorized according to respective heights D_(l) and D_(s). Those largecells and small cells may have different lengths to provide flexibilityto suit various devices and to be effectively stitched together. In thepresent embodiment, a large cell has a cell height D_(l)=5*P˜10*P andthe small cell has a cell height D_(s)=3*P˜8*P and, in which P is thepitch of the fin active regions. In one example where P=30 nm, D_(l)ranges between 150 nm and 300 nm, and D_(s) ranges between 90 nm and 240nm. Those cells may all be standard cells, or alternatively a subsetthereof are standard cells.

Each cell includes various devices, such as nFETs and pFETs, accordingthe given circuit. In the present embodiment, the vertically stackedchannels are formed in the active regions with gates surrounding eachchannel of the vertically stacked channels. Further illustrated in FIG.15 are various features of those devices, such as active regions 106 and108, n-type doped wells 110, p-type doped wells 111, gates 112, sourcecontacts 352 and drain contacts 353 landing on respective source anddrain features, and source/drain vias 354 landing on respective sourcecontacts and drain contacts. The IC structure 350 further includes othercircuit components, such as power rails 356 and signal tracks 358, whichare conductive features coupled to devices for power and signal. In someembodiments, the power rails 356 and signal tracks 358 are both formedin the interconnect structure, such as formed as metal lines in thefirst metal layer of the interconnect structure. In some examples, thepower rails 356 are connected to source contacts 352 and the signaltracks 358 are connected to the drain contacts 353, such as throughrespective source/drain vias 354.

FIG. 16 is a top view of an IC structure 360 having multiple standardcells placed in series edge by edge constructed according to oneembodiment. The standard cells include large standard cells, such as120, and small standard cells, such as 122. Particularly, the largecells 120 and small cells 122 are alternatively placed. Other features,such as sources, drains, source contacts 352, drain contacts 353,source/drain vias 354, gate stacks 112, and gate contacts 362 arefurther illustrated in FIG. 16.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a method 400 making an IC structure, such as100, 200, and etc., constructed in accordance with some embodiments.Various operations are described in description of the IC structure 100in FIGS. 1A-1D and 200 in FIGS. 2A-2C. Especially, after variousoperations of the method 400, multiple channels are formed on eachactive region, stacked vertically, and surrounded by the gates. Themethod 400 includes an operation 401 by providing a workpiece (such as100 or 200 previously described) having a semiconductor substrate 102with alternatively stacked semiconductor material layers. For example, apair of silicon layers and silicon germanium layers are alternativelystacked by a suitable technique, such as epitaxial growth.

The method 400 includes an operation 402 to form various doped featuresincluding do wells (such as n-type doped wells 110, p-type doped wells111, n-type doped channels and p-type doped channels 130) using suitabletechnique, such as ion implantation or in-site doping during theepitaxial growth to form the respective semiconductor layer.

The method 400 also includes an operation 404 to form isolation features104 (such as shallow trench isolation features or STI features) todefine the active regions. The formation of the isolation features mayinclude: patterning the alternatively stacked semiconductor materiallayers using lithography process and etching to form trenches; fillingthe trenches with one or more dielectric material (such as siliconoxide, silicon nitride, low-k dielectric material or a combinationthereof); and performing a CMP process.

The method 400 includes an operation 406 to form fin active regions,such as WNS 106 and NNS 108. The operation 406 may include etching torecess the isolation features 104 such that the fin active regions areextruded above the isolation features 104.

The method 400 includes an operation 408 to form dummy gate stacks by aprocedure that includes deposition and patterning (that further includeslithography process and etching). The operation 408 also includesforming gate spacers 116 on the sidewalls of the dummy gate stacks bydeposition and anisotropic etching. The operation 408 may additionallyinclude forming dielectric gates 114 during the formation of the dummygate stacks or during the gate replacement at later stages.

The method 400 includes an operation 410 to form sources and drains (orsource/drain features) 126 by a procedure that includes etching torecess the source/drain regions and epitaxial growth to form thesource/drain features 126 with proper semiconductor materials for deviceperformance, such as strain effect.

The method 400 includes an operation 422 to form an interleveldielectric (ILD) layer on the workpiece using a procedure that mayinclude deposition and CMP. The method 400 includes an operation 424 toremove the dummy gate stacks to form the gate trenches using selectiveetching. The method 400 includes an operation 426 to perform an etchingprocess in the gate trenches to selectively remove one of the first andsecond semiconductor material layers stacked in pair, such asselectively removing the second semiconductor material layers (e.g.,silicon germanium), thereby forming the multiple channels (or channelregions) 130.

The method 400 includes an operation 428 to form metal gates 112 in thegate trenches such that the metal gates 112 surround the channels 130.The operation 428 may include deposition and CMP. The operations 424˜428are referred to as gate replacement. The method 400 may further includeother operations, such as an operation 430 to form source/drain contactfeatures, and an operation 432 to form other features, such gatecontacts, vias and metal lines in an interconnect structure.

In various embodiments described above, the gates 112 are furtherdescribed. The gate 112 includes a gate dielectric layer (such assilicon oxide) and a gate electrode (such as doped polysilicon) disposedon the gate dielectric layer.

In some embodiments, the gate 112 alternatively or additionally includesother proper materials for circuit performance and manufacturingintegration. For example, the gate dielectric layer includes aninterfacial layer (such as silicon oxide) and a high k dielectricmaterial layer. The high k dielectric material may include metal oxide,metal nitride or metal oxynitride. In various examples, the high kdielectric material layer includes metal oxide: ZrO2, Al2O3, and HfO2,formed by a suitable method, such as metal organic chemical vapordeposition (MOCVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layerdeposition (ALD), or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In some examples, theinterfacial layer includes silicon oxide formed by ALD, thermaloxidation or ultraviolet-Ozone Oxidation. The gate electrode includesmetal, such as aluminum, copper, tungsten, metal silicide, dopedpolysilicon, other proper conductive material or a combination thereof.The gate electrode may include multiple conductive films designed suchas a capping layer, a work function metal layer, a blocking layer and afilling metal layer (such as aluminum or tungsten). The multipleconductive films are designed for work function matching to n-type FET(nFET) and p-type FET (pFET), respectively. In some embodiments, thegate electrode for nFET includes a work function metal with acomposition designed with a work function equal 4.2 eV or less and thegate electrode for pFET includes a work function metal with acomposition designed with a work function equal 5.2 eV or greater. Forexamples, the work function metal layer for nFET includes tantalum,titanium aluminum, titanium aluminum nitride or a combination thereof.In other examples, the work function metal layer for pFET includestitanium nitride, tantalum nitride or a combination thereof.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of a method 500 forming an IC design layout foran IC structure (such as 100 or 200) according to various embodiments.The method 500 and method 400 may be collectively used to form an ICdesign layout and fabricate an IC structure according to the IC designlayout. The method 500 is described with further reference to FIG. 1Athrough FIG. 16.

The method 500 begins with a block 502 by receiving an integratedcircuit (IC) and proceeds to following operations to form an IC designlayout according to the integrated circuit. The integrated circuitincludes one or more functional circuit including field-effecttransistors and other devices. However, the functional circuit is anetwork that defines how those devices are connected but not definewhere each device is placed, positioned and spaced. Those will befurther defined in the IC design layout. The IC design layout is formedfurther according to standard cells from a standard circuit library thatincludes plurality of standard cells, which can be repeated used informing the IC design layout. The method 500 includes various operationson how to form standard cells and how standard cells are configured forenhanced circuit performance, circuit packing density and fabricationcapability. As illustrated in various embodiments described above, thedisclosed method 500 uses hybrid standard cells with different sizes.Especially, active regions are properly designed with variousdimensional parameters. Various FETs are formed on those active regionswith stacked channels including WNS, NNS and NW. The dimensionalparameters include width W, spacing S and pitch P of those activeregions. The dimensional parameters are defined and illustrated throughvarious above embodiments. Those dimensional parameters are notindependent but are related with each other. In some examples, P=W+S.Furthermore, the width W is associated with device (or circuit)performance, the spacing S is associated with process capability, andthe pitch P is associated with circuit packing density. When the width Wis increased, the device performance is improved but the pitch P may beincreased, which will reduce the circuit packing density. When thespacing S is increased, the process capability is enhanced, which meansthat it can be fabricated with more processing margins, less fabricationchallenges and high fabrication yield. However, the pitch P may beincreased as well and the circuit packing density is also reduced. Whenthe pitch P is reduced, the circuit packing density is increased but thewidth W and the spacing S may be reduced with reduced device performanceand process capability. Therefore, there is no straightforward approachto form an IC design layout without sacrificing circuit performance,process capability and circuit packing density. The disclosed method 500provides a procedure to form an IC design layout with circuitperformance, process capability and circuit packing density allenhanced.

The method 500 may include an operation 503 to assign various portionsor components of the integrated circuit into a large cell (LC) or asmall cell (SC) according to various design rules, process capability,packing density and circuit performance. For example, if some devicesrequire high device performance or process capability, those devices maybe assigned to one or more LC.

The method 500 proceeds to an operation 504 to assign respective widthsfor large cells (LCs) and small cells (SCs). Particularly, the widthW_(l) of the LCs and the W_(s) of the SCs are assigned differently suchthat W_(l) is greater than W_(s). This can be achieved in differentways. In one embodiment, the active regions of the LCs are assigned withWNSs and the active regions of the SCs are assigned with NNSs, such asthe IC structure of FIG. 1A. In another embodiment, the active regionsof LCs and SCs are both assigned NWs. However, each active region in aLC is replaced with a first number N_(l) of NWs as N_(l)*NW and eachactive region in a SC is replaced with a second number N_(s) of NWs asN_(s)*NW, in which N_(l) and N_(s) are both integers, and N_(l) isgreater than N_(s). This increases the width of the active regions inthe LCs compared the active regions in the SCs. In various examples,N_(l) is 2 and N_(s) is 1, such as in the IC structure of FIG. 2A; orN_(l) is 3 and N_(s) is 2, such as in the IC structure of FIG. 13; orN_(l) is 3 and N_(s) is 1, such as in the IC structure of FIG. 14. Inthe operation 504, after the widths are assigned, the spacing is keptthe same for both LCs and SCs so that the pitch P for the LCs isslightly increased to fit to the size of the LCs.

Such defined widths of the active regions are further changed andfine-tuned to further enhance the device performance, process capabilityand circuit packing density. The method 500 includes an operation 506 tovary the width of the active regions such that the width of the activeregions in a LC (or a SC) is varying from active region to anotheractive region in the LC, thereby forming an IC design layout having anunbalanced structure, such as the IC structure in FIGS. 7 and 8. Theoperation 506 is similarly applied to all cells (LCs and SCs). Inoperation 506, the width of the active regions is varied from one activeregion to another active region. As one example illustrated in FIG. 7,the first stand cell 120 as a LC includes one active region 106 forpFETs with a first width W_(p-l) and another active region for nFETswith a second width W_(n-l) greater than the first width W_(p-l).Similarly, the second stand cell 122 as a SC includes one active region106 for pFETs with a third width W_(p-s) and another active region fornFETs with a fourth width W_(n-s) greater than the first width W_(p-s).The operation 506 is applied according to circuit performance includingpower saving, matching for nFET and pFET, or other consideration topromote the overall circuit performance. In another example illustratedin FIG. 8, the first stand cell 120 as a LC includes one active region106 for pFETs with a first width W_(p-l) and another active region fornFETs with a second width W_(n-l) less than the first width W_(p-l).Similarly, the second stand cell 122 as a SC includes one active region106 for pFETs with a third width W_(p-s) and another active region fornFETs with a fourth width W_(ns) less than the first width W_(p-s). forsimilar consideration with different circuit specification.

The method 500 includes an operation 508 to further vary the widthaccording to the design rules and the process margin requirements,therefore modifying the active regions with varying widths. Theoperation 508 is applied to vary the width of an active region from onesegment to another segment, or in segment-wise. This is furtherdescribed in detail according to some examples. In one example, if oneactive region either in a LC or a SC includes critical spot requiringmore spacing, a segment of the active region associated with thecritical spot is modified with reduced width so with an increasedspacing. The operation 506 may apply each segment of an active regionand each active region in the IC structure so that the active regionsare segmented with varying widths in segment-wise. Such formed activeregions have an L-shape, an U-shape (such as one in FIG. 11), astep-wise shape or other proper shapes, such as those illustrated inFIG. 5. In some examples, the width of an active region in one segmentis even reduced to zero, therefore discrete or intermittent or brokenactive region with multiple segments aligned but not connected, as oneillustrated in FIG. 6. Varying the width of an active region insegment-wise in the operation 508 may be applied according to otherparameters, such as power reduction, device speed and processcapability. In those consideration, the width may be varied to have asymmetric structure, such as those in a left portion 252 of the ICstructure 250 in FIG. 5 and in a left portion 262 of the IC structure260 in FIG. 6 according to in some embodiments, or the width may bevaried to have an asymmetric structure, such as those in a right portion254 of the IC structure 250 in FIG. 5 and in a right portion 264 of theIC structure 260 in FIG. 6 according to in some other embodiments.

The method 500 may also include an operation 510 to configure variousstandard cells including LCs and SCs to have a hybrid configuration. Inthe operation 510, the LCs and SCs are properly configured according tothe overall circuit performance, the circuit packing density and otherconsiderations. In some embodiments, the LCs and SCs are alternativelyplaced such that one SC is interposed between two LCs and one LC isinterposed between two SCs, as those illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16.

The method 500 may include other operations to further design standardcells and place standard cells to form an IC design layout for a givenIC circuit. When the IC design layout is formed for the give an ICcircuit using operations 504 through 510, an IC structure is fabricatedaccording to the IC design layout in a block 512, which may includevarious steps in the method 400 of FIG. 17.

The present disclosure provides various embodiments of an IC structurehaving multiple standard cells configured according to the predefinedrules. In various embodiments described above, standard cells aredesigned and placed according to the disclosed rules. In variousembodiments described above, standard cells are designed and placedaccording to the disclosed rules. Two or more standard cells are placedin cascade with adjacent cells having different sizes (D_(s) and D_(l)).Each standard cell includes one or more gates. The gates (and dielectricgates) in the cascaded standard cells are distributed evenly. In someembodiments, a large cell includes channels of nanosheet with a greaterwidth while a small cell includes channels of nanosheet with a smallerwidth. In some embodiments, a large cell includes channels of nanowirehaving an intra-spacing and inter-spacing greater than theintra-spacing. Various advantages may present in various embodiments. Byutilizing the disclosed layout having multiple standard cells, the ICstructure, such as a logic circuit, has a high packing density, enhancedcircuit performance and increased process window.

One aspect of the present disclosure involves an integrated circuit. Theintegrated circuit includes a first standard cell spanning a firstdimension D_(l) along a first direction from a first cell edge to asecond cell edge, and spanning from a third cell edge to a fourth celledge along a second direction being orthogonal to the first direction,wherein the first standard cell includes a first active region and asecond active region spaced away with a first spacing therebetween alongthe first direction, and wherein each of the first and second activeregions spans a first width W₁ along the first direction; a secondstandard cell spanning a second dimension D_(s) along the firstdirection from a fifth cell edge to a sixth cell edge, and spanning froma seventh cell edge to an eighth cell edge along the second direction,wherein the second standard cell includes a third active region and afourth active region spaced away with the first spacing therebetweenalong the first direction, wherein the second dimension D_(s) is lessthan the first dimension D_(l), each of the third and fourth activeregions spans a second width W₂ along the first direction, wherein W₂ isless than the first width W₁, and the second standard cell is disposedsuch that the fifth cell edge is aligned with and contacts the secondcell edge; and a plurality of gate stacks oriented along the firstdirection and continuously extend from the sixth cell edge of the secondstandard cell to the first cell edge of the first standard cell, whereinthe first and second active regions have a structure different from astructure of the third and fourth active regions.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves an integrated circuitthat includes a first standard cell spanning a first dimension L₁ alonga first direction from a first cell edge to a second cell edge andspanning a second dimension L₂ from a third cell edge to a fourth celledge along a second direction being orthogonal to the first direction.The first standard cell includes a first active region and a secondactive region oriented along the second direction, and wherein the firstactive region and the second active region are spaced away with a firstspacing S therebetween. The first standard cell includes a third activeregion and a fourth active region oriented along the second direction,and wherein the third active region and the fourth active region arespaced away with a second spacing S₂ therebetween, wherein the first andsecond active regions are spaced away from the third and fourth activeregions with a third spacing S₃, wherein S₁ is equal to S₂, and whereinS₃ is greater than S₁. The integrated circuit includes a second standardcell spanning a third dimension L₃ along the first direction from afifth cell edge to a sixth cell edge and spanning a fourth dimension L₄from a seventh cell edge to an eighth cell edge along the seconddirection. The second standard cell includes a fifth active region and asixth active region spanning from the seventh cell edge to the eighthcell edge along the second direction, wherein the fifth active regionand the sixth active region are spaced away with a fourth spacing S₄therebetween, wherein S₄ is equal to S₃, wherein L₃ is less than L₁ andL₄ is equal to L₂, and wherein the second standard cell is disposed suchthat the fifth cell edge is aligned with and contacts the second celledge. The integrated circuit further includes a plurality of gate stacksoriented along the first direction and continuously extend from thesixth cell edge of the second standard cell to the first cell edge ofthe first standard cell, wherein the first, second, third, fourth,fifth, and sixth active regions have a same width W spanning along thefirst direction, wherein each of the first, second, third, fourth,fifth, and sixth active regions includes multiple channels verticallystacked, and wherein each of the multiple channels has a same thicknessT, T being substantially equal to W.

Another aspect of the present disclosure involves an integrated circuitthat includes a first standard cell spanning a first dimension along afirst direction from a first cell edge to a second cell edge, andspanning from a third cell edge to a fourth cell edge along a seconddirection being orthogonal to the first direction, wherein the firststandard cell includes a first active region and a second active regionspaced away with a first spacing therebetween, and wherein the first andsecond active regions include a width varying along the seconddirection; a second standard cell spanning a second dimension along thefirst direction from a fifth cell edge to a sixth cell edge, regionspanning from a seventh cell edge to an eighth cell edge along thesecond direction, wherein the second standard cell includes a thirdactive region and a fourth active spaced away with the first spacingtherebetween, wherein the second spacing is equal to the first spacing,the second dimension is less than the first dimension, the secondstandard cell is disposed such that the fifth cell edge is aligned withand contacts the second cell edge, and the third and fourth activeregions include a constant width; and a plurality of gate stacksoriented along the first direction and continuously extend from thesixth cell edge of the second standard cell to the first cell edge ofthe first standard cell, wherein the first and second active regionshave a structure different from a structure of the third and fourthactive regions.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure involves a method forforming an integrated circuit layout. The method includes receiving anintegrated circuit; assigning components of the integrated circuit tolarge cells and small cells; assigning widths of active regions in smallcells and large cells; varying the widths from one to another activeregion to form an unbalanced design; varying the widths of the activeregions in segment-wise according to design rules and process marginrequirements; and configuring various cells including LCs and SCs tohave a hybrid configuration.

The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments. Thoseskilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use thepresent disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processesand structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving thesame advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled inthe art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and thatthey may make various changes, substitutions and alterations hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit, comprising: a firststandard cell spanning a first dimension D_(L) along a first directionfrom a first cell edge to a second cell edge, and spanning from a thirdcell edge to a fourth cell edge along a second direction beingorthogonal to the first direction, wherein the first standard cellincludes a first, second, third and fourth active regions longitudinallyoriented in the second direction, and wherein the first and secondactive regions are spaced away from the third and fourth active regionswith a first spacing S₁ along the first direction; a second standardcell spanning a second dimension D_(S) along the first direction from afifth cell edge to a sixth cell edge, and spanning from a seventh celledge to an eighth cell edge along the second direction, wherein thesecond standard cell includes a fifth and sixth active regionslongitudinally oriented in the first direction and spaced away with thefirst spacing S₁ therebetween along the first direction, wherein thesecond dimension D_(S) is less than the first dimension D_(L); and aplurality of gate stacks oriented along the first direction andcontinuously extend from the sixth cell edge of the second standard cellto the first cell edge of the first standard cell, wherein each of thefirst, second, third and fourth active regions includes a plurality ofsegments aligned and spaced away from each other along the seconddirection; and the fifth and sixth active regions continuously extendfrom the seventh cell edge to the eighth cell edge along the seconddirection.
 2. The integrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the firstactive region and the second active region are spaced away with a secondspacing S₂ therebetween along the first direction; the third activeregion and the fourth active region are spaced away with a third spacingS₃ therebetween along the first direction, wherein S₂ is equal to S₃,and wherein S₁ is greater than S₂; and the fifth active region and thesixth active region are spaced away with a fourth spacing S₄therebetween, wherein S₄ is equal to S₁.
 3. The integrated circuit ofclaim 1, wherein the first standard cell spans a third dimension L_(L)from the third cell edge to the fourth cell edge along the seconddirection; and the second standard cell spans a fourth dimension L_(S)from the seventh cell edge to the eighth cell edge along the seconddirection, wherein L_(L) is equal to L_(S), and wherein the fifth celledge contacts the second cell edge.
 4. The integrated circuit of claim1, wherein the second standard cell is disposed such that the third celledge is aligned with the seventh cell edge and the fourth cell edge isaligned with the eighth cell edge.
 5. The integrated circuit of claim 1,wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth activeregions have a same width W spanning along the first direction.
 6. Theintegrated circuit of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second, third,fourth, fifth, and sixth active regions includes multiple channelsvertically stacked, and wherein each of the multiple channels has a samethickness T, T being substantially equal to W; and each of the gatestacks laterally extends over the each of the first, second, third,fourth, fifth and sixth active regions and vertically extends down tosurround each of the channels.
 7. The integrated circuit of claim 1,further comprising: a first p-type field-effect transistor (pFET) deviceformed on the first and second active regions; a second pFET deviceformed on the sixth active region; a first n-type field-effecttransistor (nFET) device formed on the third and fourth active regions;and a second nFET device formed on the fifth active region.
 8. Theintegrated circuit of claim 1, wherein the plurality of gate stacksincludes a first gate stack aligned with and extending on the third andseventh cell edges; and a second gate stack aligned with and extendingon the fourth and eighth cell edges.
 9. An integrated circuit,comprising: a first standard cell spanning a first dimension L₁ along afirst direction from a first cell edge to a second cell edge andspanning a second dimension L₂ from a third cell edge to a fourth celledge along a second direction being orthogonal to the first direction,wherein the first standard cell includes a first active region and asecond active region oriented along the second direction, and whereinthe first active region and the second active region are spaced awaywith a first spacing S₁ therebetween, and a third active region and afourth active region oriented along the second direction, and whereinthe third active region and the fourth active region are spaced awaywith a second spacing S₂ therebetween, wherein the first and secondactive regions are spaced away from the third and fourth active regionswith a third spacing S₃, wherein S₁ is equal to S₂, and wherein S₃ isgreater than S₁; a second standard cell spanning a third dimension L₃along the first direction from a fifth cell edge to a sixth cell edgeand spanning a fourth dimension L₄ from a seventh cell edge to an eighthcell edge along the second direction, wherein the second standard cellincludes a fifth active region and a sixth active region spanning fromthe seventh cell edge to the eighth cell edge along the seconddirection, wherein the fifth active region and the sixth active regionare spaced away with a fourth spacing S₄ therebetween, wherein S₄ isequal to S₃, wherein L₃ is less than L₁ and L₄ is equal to L₂, andwherein the second standard cell is disposed such that the fifth celledge is aligned with and contacts the second cell edge; and a pluralityof gate stacks oriented along the first direction and continuouslyextend from the sixth cell edge of the second standard cell to the firstcell edge of the first standard cell.
 10. The integrated circuit ofclaim 9, wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixthactive regions have a same width W spanning along the first direction;and the second standard cell is disposed such that the third cell edgeis aligned with the seventh cell edge and the fourth cell edge isaligned with the eighth cell edge.
 11. The integrated circuit of claim10, wherein each of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixthactive regions includes multiple channels vertically stacked, andwherein each of the multiple channels has a same thickness T, T beingsubstantially equal to W.
 12. The integrated circuit of claim 11,wherein each of the gate stacks laterally extends over the each of thefirst, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth active regions andvertically extends down to surround each of the channels, wherein theeach of the gate stacks includes a gate dielectric layer and a gateelectrode.
 13. The integrated circuit of claim 9, wherein each of thefirst and second active regions includes a plurality of segments alignedand spaced away from each other along the second direction; each of thethird and fourth active regions includes a plurality of segments alignedand spaced away from each other along the second direction; and thefifth and sixth active regions continuously extend from the seventh celledge to the eighth cell edge along the second direction.
 14. Theintegrated circuit of claim 13, further comprising: a first p-typefield-effect transistor (pFET) device formed on the first and secondactive regions; a second pFET device formed on the sixth active region;a first n-type field-effect transistor (nFET) device formed on the thirdand fourth active region; and a second nFET device formed on the fifthactive region.
 15. The integrated circuit of claim 9, wherein theplurality of gate stacks includes a first gate stack aligned with andextending on the third and seventh cell edges; and a second gate stackaligned with and extending on the fourth and eighth cell edges.
 16. Anintegrated circuit, comprising: a first standard cell spanning a firstdimension along a first direction from a first cell edge to a secondcell edge, and spanning from a third cell edge to a fourth cell edgealong a second direction being orthogonal to the first direction,wherein the first standard cell includes a first active region and asecond active region longitudinally oriented in the second direction andspaced away with a first spacing therebetween, and wherein the first andsecond active regions each include a width varying along the seconddirection; a second standard cell spanning a second dimension along thefirst direction from a fifth cell edge to a sixth cell edge, andspanning from a seventh cell edge to an eighth cell edge along thesecond direction, wherein the second standard cell includes a thirdactive region and a fourth active region longitudinally oriented in thesecond direction and spaced away, wherein the second dimension is lessthan the first dimension, and the third and fourth active regions eachinclude a constant width; and a plurality of gate stacks longitudinallyoriented along the first direction and continuously extend from thesixth cell edge of the second standard cell to the first cell edge ofthe first standard cell.
 17. The integrated circuit of claim 16, whereinthe second standard cell is disposed such that the third cell edge isaligned with the seventh cell edge and the fourth cell edge is alignedwith the eighth cell edge.
 18. The integrated circuit of claim 16,wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth active regionsincludes a plurality of channels vertically stacked; and each of thegate stacks laterally extends over the each of the first, second, thirdand fourth active regions and vertically extends to surround each of thechannels.
 19. The integrated circuit of claim 18, wherein the channelsin the first and second active regions include a first width W₁ and afirst thickness T₁; and the channels in the third and fourth activeregions include a second width W₂ and a thickness T₂, W₁ beingsubstantially greater than W₂, and T₁ and T₂ being substantially equal.20. The integrated circuit of claim 19, further includes a first p-typefield-effect transistor (pFET) device formed on the first active region;a second pFET device formed on the fourth active region; a first n-typefield-effect transistor (nFET) device formed on the second activeregion; and a second nFET device formed on the third active region.